Owner of a Lonely Heart
by snarkysweetness
Summary: August and Emma have an awkward drive back to Storybrooke after their confrontation in the woods; a missing scene from 'The Stranger'.


**Title:** Owner of a Lonely Heart  
**Author:** snarkysweetness  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Characters:** August/Pinocchio, Emma, & Marco/Geppetto; Emma/August  
**Summary:** August and Emma have an awkward drive back to Storybrooke after their confrontation in the woods; a missing scene from 'The Stranger'.  
**Warnings:** Angst.  
**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.  
**Author's Notes:** I know a bunch of you have asked for this for forever (hopelesslonging especially) and I've had this thing sitting in a folder since this summer. Sorry it's taken me so long to finally get it up.

"_You're our only hope."_

"_Then you're all screwed."_

August watched Emma walk away from him in a daze. This was not how tonight was supposed to go. He planned on telling her everything, showing her his leg, and her finally believing. Not finding her denial to be so strong that she was actually incapable of seeing the proof when it was shown to her. He now understood why, after everything, she still couldn't see the truth.

He closed his eyes, trying to fight off the bitter sting of failure. He'd failed everyone. His father, Jiminy, Emma, Hen-

No. He couldn't give up. Not yet. Everyone needed Emma to break the curse. He would die soon and he couldn't give up until that happened.

"Emma, wait!"

He avoided the pain in his leg and chased after her, her blond hair no longer visibly through the thick trees. He caught up to her outside of the diner and was surprised when she leaned against the bike, her arms crossed.

August forced himself to meet her gaze but she was the one avoiding him.

"Take me home," she muttered, grabbing her helmet.

He was glad she wasn't going to be stubborn about getting home on her own. It wasn't as if she'd have any other way to get back to Storybrooke. He opened his mouth to say something to her but she threw on her helmet and looked up to glare at him.

Okay then, maybe now wasn't the best time to continue this.

August pulled his helmet on and mounted his bike, waiting until her arms were securely around him before he started the engine and sped off.

This ride had been much faster earlier. When she'd been smiling and holding onto him with her chin resting on his shoulder and the two of them flirting each time they stopped. Now the drive was long and awkward and tense. When they finally reached Storybrooke he breathed a sigh of relief, hoping she'd had some time to cool down.

She removed her helmet and he could see dried tears on her cheeks and he knew she'd been crying on the drive back. He closed his eyes, ashamed of himself. If he'd just stayed with her…

He shook his head. He had to stop with the 'what if's'. They weren't going to do her or anyone else any good.

Emma stormed off without a word towards the apartment building and August rushed after her.

"Emma!"

"Get away from me."

She reached for her keys and August grasped her arm, forcing her to look at him. Emma's eyes were filled with tears again and before he could stop himself, his lips were on hers. He immediately realized what he was doing and released his hold on her and tried to break the kiss but Emma grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him back against her. August's hands moved to her waist and he pressed her against the door, deepening the kiss. Her fingers moved into his hair and he traced his tongue over her bottom lip until she granted him access to the rest of her mouth.

Emma was the one to break the kiss, turning her head away from him as her hands moved to his chest, pushing him off of her.

"I don't ever want to see you again."

All of the air in his body left him.

"Emma, no, I-"

She shook her head and reached for the door handle.

"I have my kid to think about and I can't-" She sighed and blinked back more tears. "He's all I can handle right now and I can't sit here and deal with your lies, _Pinocchio_. I forgive you for abandoning me in that home because I would have probably done the same thing. You don't have to feel guilty anymore. And you can stop whatever…whatever you let Henry get into your head. I don't need your help or your stories. I just need to get my kid away from Regina, not to be wasting time with you."

She swung the door open and before she could disappear he called out to her.

"Emma, I lo-"

"Don't." She hissed, not turning back to him. "No more lies."

Emma slammed the door shut behind her and he watched as she disappeared up the stairs.

He stood in a stupor, unable to feel anything, until everything hit him all at once. Emma didn't believe. He was going to die before she could break the curse. If she managed to succeed…

August abandoned his bike on the sidewalk and began walking, with no destination in mind. Okay, maybe he did have a destination, because when he appeared at his father's house minutes later he wasn't surprised that this was where he'd allowed his body to take him.

He'd wasted so much time with Emma he hadn't even bothered to spend time with his father. His father, who he'd failed. His father who he loved more than anyone; even Emma. If he was going to die, he wanted to die knowing he'd spent the time he had left with his father.

A small smile came to his lips as he realized his father was working on their old clock.

"Faster and faster. Come on. Work, work, work…"

"Align the gear on the spindle, then press the spring." August called out, focusing his energy on what he would say to his father while pushing away thoughts of the Princess he'd allowed himself to fall in love with and how he'd failed them both miserably.

Geppetto or…Marco as he was known here followed August's instructions and the clock began to work. August smiled and Marco looked up at him, amazed.

"Who taught you that?"

"My father."

"He taught you well. He must be very proud."

August tried not to laugh at the irony.

"I don't know about that. Don't think I became the man he wanted me to be."

That was an understatement.

"Well, have you tried to make it up to him?"

Not enough. August had tried, for years. He'd gotten lost, found himself, and then gotten lost again. But he'd always tried. He knew it was better than the alternative. But it wasn't good enough. Not for his father. Not for Emma. Not for the kid.

"I made him a promise…A long time ago. By the time I got around to making good on it, I think it was too late."

"But you kept your promise. You realized your mistake, and you tried to fix it. That's important. If I had a son that would be enough for me."

He fought off a wave of emotion; wishing things could be so simple. And he hadn't realized how much he had missed his father until this very moment. Especially when he saw the old whale he'd carved back in their land, the one he'd been making for…

"You look like you might be shorthanded."

"I get by."

"How would you feel about…Taking on an assistant?"

"I can't pay you."

"That's okay. I just feel like fixing things."

August couldn't fix any of the damage he'd done, but maybe he could do something about making up on some lost time with his father. If Emma did find a way to break the curse, at least his father would have a few new memories to help him through his grief.


End file.
